


Rin's Smile

by fanfiction4life



Category: Free!
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Heaven, M/M, Mutual Pining, Passing away
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-17
Updated: 2015-11-17
Packaged: 2018-05-02 01:14:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5228246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanfiction4life/pseuds/fanfiction4life
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I've got a grandfather, he never truly smiled. Not even before my grandfather passed away. I love him very much, especially the stories that he would tell me of when he won his swimming races. But as his death approaches, I learn the 'unrequited' love he harbored for this other man -- Nanase Haruka. I also learn that... if you love someone... then go after them... don't let the chance go... because once it leaves, it cannot be found again. This is the story of my grandfather, the story of his smile.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rin's Smile

**Author's Note:**

> So, another story about my favorite ships! This is one of my most proud work of art. I hope you guys are not put off by the long story and read it till the end!!! Thanks! It would be appreciated very much!!

I have a grandfather. His name is Rin Matsuoka.

He’s really kind to me. I love him very much. But, sometimes he would start rampaging down the streets with a finger in the air whenever a juvenile trots down his front yard. Now that’s hilarious. I still remember the time when he dragged a poor boy over and lectured him while he had to kneel down on all fours for a whole hour. I laughed for the entire day when the neighbors told me that.

I also love his hair. He’s a handsome man – in my opinion. He’s much more attractive than any other senile elders I’ve seen in my life before. Although most of his hair is white from old age, there are still hints of the blazing reddish purple hair, a trait I inherited from him.

To me, he’s wonderful. But there’s just one thing that makes my heart sink.

It’s his smile.

His smile never meets his eyes, like those polite smiles you see every day on the television. It’s almost as if the flame has died out from his eyes.

I’m not sure if it’s because of his old age; but he stopped smiling after grandmother died.

No, wait. Scratch that.

He stopped smiling before grandmother died.

I have always questioned myself about his strange behaviour, though I never had the courage to ask him. It seemed like it was something private to him.

But I really enjoy staying my summer holidays over in his house. I love hearing his stories about his school life and the past. It is the only time when his eyes would brighten up. Just a little.

He would always talk about swimming and his friends. Most of the time, it was just about how he felt when he broke his best record. His lips would perk up the slightest. It is a true sight to behold.

But, _that intangible emotion_ would always flicker through his eyes whenever he mentions his rival and best friend – Haru Nanase. I could never grasp onto what it was. It was just there, but not there as well.

“So how did you two meet at first?” I perked my head up.

He smirked, as if reminiscing about something hilarious. “Now that was funny. I don’t think he liked me much at the beginning.” He shook his head and said, “He was always glaring at me.”

“So… what exactly happened?”

“Well…”

He told his story while I listened intently…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My grandfather had always talked about how Haru was a natural swimmer—almost like a dolphin. He would always criticise how Haru’s talent was wasted on swimming ‘free’.

“That guy was just stubborn,” my grandfather said. “He had always insisted on swimming free.”

“Why does he do that?” I blinked and tugged on his sleeves.

He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know… I… didn’t get the chance to ask that.”

“Didn’t get the chance? What do you mean?”

For a second, I thought I saw him flinch back. He diverted his eyes into the distance, peering out the window before turning back to face the ground.

“…I… stopped seeing him… after my wedding…”

“Huh? He went to your wedding?” I raised an eyebrow as I leaned on his lap.

He smiled sadly. “He was there… then he cut off all contact after the ceremony ended.”

I tilted my head in question. “Does that mean you haven’t seen him for more than 50 years?”

“I…” he lowered his gaze, “…more than 50 years have already passed huh? “ For a moment, something glinted over his eyes.

 _That_ was there, fluttering again.

I pushed on. “Why did he cut all contact?”

A tight smile was forced on his lips. “I don’t know… I suppose… I never understood what Haru was thinking… you see…” he bit his lips, “...He was a cold passive man… no one could really get past the walls he had built.”  

Then grandfather tilted his head up. His greyish bangs slid down, concealing his eyes. He was once again gazing out through the window. I never knew what he was looking at all this time.

All there was outside was a cherry blossom tree.

Yeah, nothing else.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Grandfather!” I slammed open the door and rushed towards the hospital bed. “Are you alright? I heard that you fainted at home!”

He slapped my head. I winced, comforting the huge bruise caused by this perpetrator.

“What was that for?” I glared at him.

He met my glare evenly. “I’m not going to die yet! I’ll live until I’m a hundred years old! Don’t you start worrying!”

“You sure do have a lot of energy, looks like all my worry was for nothing.” I fought back the tears. Yet, some still managed to trickle down my cheeks. Of course, even though he was bursting with energy, I could not help but notice how much he had thinned over the past months. He looked more exhausted than before. The once warm and firm hands were now feeble in strength. His skin dulled, accentuating the hollowness and dark circles under his eyes.

As soon as I scrunched my face, he softened his voice. “Come here, it’s alright.”

I sniffled. He shuffled aside and I snuggled into the hospital bed. It was just like how grandfather told me his golden stories when I was terrified of the thunder. Still am though.

“Do you want me to tell you a story?”

I nodded, eyes perking up and eyes glistening eagerly.

He chuckled. “Well…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_“Haru! Haru!” A reddish-purple headed boy flung his arms over Haru’s shoulders._

_Haru grunted, a little off guard from a sudden lump of meat on his shoulders. He whipped his head back, glaring into a pair of amethyst eyes._

_Rin grinned. “You’re so cold.” Then he shoved something in front of the boy’s face. “Look at this! Isn’t this cute?”_

_It was only a shark hat. It didn’t interest Haru at all._

_“Look! Don’t I look awesome in this?” Rin put it on his head, showing off in front of his best friend._

_Haru plainly looked away._

_Rin pouted. “All you think about is water. We’re at an aquarium shop, there’s got to be something that’ll interest you!”_

_It was the holidays, and the whole group went to the aquarium. At first, Haru was reluctant on going anywhere; however, after Makoto’s mention of the beautiful, glistening water in the aquarium, they were finally able to drag Haru along._

_Haru resumed on staring at the souvenir in front of him._

_Rin peeked over his shoulders. He saw that it was dolphin ring._

_“You… you want that right?” Rin raised an eyebrow._

_Haru tensed before glancing away. “Not really—“_

_“Hey! Look, it has a matching pair, and it’s a shark!” Rin cut in, taking out the shark ring and admiring it. “It’s so cool!”_

_Haru, annoyed with the boisterous voice, simply left._

_“Hey! Wait up Haru!” Rin panicked. He glanced down at the ring and then back at Haru. “Wait! Don’t just ditch me—!”_

_~~~~~~~~_

_“Well that was fun.” Makoto gave out a gentle smile. “Wasn’t it, Haru?”_

_“No.” Haru walked past him._

_Nagisa shoved a teddy bear right in front of Makoto’s face. “Look at this! It looks exactly like me!” Flowers bloomed at the background as he beamed. “I’m so glad I bought it.”_

_Makoto calmed the lively child down. “Alright, alright, what about you, Rin?”_

_Rin smiled sly. “Yes it was!”_

_The four walked home. The time for the sunset approached and a blanket of orange covered the sky. They said bye to Nagisa first before the three turned right. As they approached their final destination, Rin stopped in his footsteps._

_“Hmm? What’s wrong, Rin?” Makoto turned around._

_Haru kept on going._

_“Hey, Makoto, can you keep on walking? I’ve got something to say to Haru.” Rin dug his hands into his pockets._

_ _

_Haru stopped._

_“Sure, no problem, see you guys tomorrow!” Makoto resumed on walking, waving as he departed with a gentle smile. He was always kind and understanding._

_As soon as Makoto left, silence fell in the atmosphere. One was ahead, one was behind. One had his back facing Rin. No one spoke, until Haru became irritated._

_“If you don’t want to say anything, I’m leaving.” Haru took a step forward._

_“Wait! Wait!” Rin hurried in front of Haru, blocking his path. “Just close your eyes.”_

_“What?” Haru stared suspiciously at the red-headed boy. “What are you planning—“_

_“I’m not going to hurt you.” Rin rolled his eyes. “Come on; please just do it, please?”_

_The blue haired boy hesitated. The decisions to simply walk off or stay here and listen to Rin battled against each other in his head. It wasn’t long before he finally sighed._

_Haru gently shut his eyes._

_“You must not peek!” Rin huffed. “If you do, I’ll nag you for the whole week!”_

_Isn’t that what you already do? Haru apathetically noted in his head. “Just hurry.”_

_“You can’t open your eyes until I tell you to!” Rin was glad that the boy in front of him was blinded, or else he would be seeing how awfully red he was._

_Rin gingerly took Haru’s hand. He could feel the other person tense under his touch. Then he opened up the blue haired boy’s hands. It was a pair of beautiful hands. His fingers were slender long, perfect when slicing through the water._

_Rin admired Haru’s swimming ability so much…_

_How he admired Haru…_

_How he… loved… Haru_

_Then, Haru felt a small cold object being shoved into his hand. He grasped onto it unconsciously._

_“Okay! You can open your eyes now!” The familiar loud voice chirped out._

_Haru slowly opened his eyes. He glanced down, only to find a glistening glass object._

_It was the dolphin ring._

_Rin waited for a response, but he didn’t get any. Haru only kept on staring at the ring, his sparkling sapphire eyes glassy. Strangely glassy._

_After a while, Rin felt awkward. “L-look!” He flashed a similar object on his marriage finger. “I’ve got a matching pair! It’s a shark!”_

_Haru’s eyes widened even more._

_Rin scratched the back of his head. “Well… you seemed like you wanted the ring, and plus, I want something to remind us of our friendship…so…” he flashed his cheerful grin at his best friend, “…so these two rings –”_

_“I’m leaving.” Haru strode past Rin._

_Rin’s eyebrows creased down into a frown. ”Wait—”_

_What is with him? He was alright a second ago, why is he leaving all of a sudden?_

_“Hey wait up!” Rin grabbed onto Haru’s shoulders in attempt to immobilise him. But he was momentarily shocked when he witnessed the slightest twinge of red steaming from Haru’s ears and cheeks. It was during these seconds of surprise that allowed Haru to wiggle out of Rin’s grip._

_“See you… tomorrow.” Haru, refusing to meet Rin’s eyes, mumbled and stalked off and left Rin frozen on his spot._

_It was not until Haru disappeared into the distance did he recover from his faze. He blinked, before tilting his head._

_Haru’s ears were…tinted red? H-how? W-what?_

_“Was that my imagination?” Rin whispered aloud._

_But of course, no one was there to hear it._

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

“So what happened afterwards?” I edged closer.

“Well…” my grandfather sighed, “I left Japan for Australia. It was not until a year later did I come back.”

For a second, pain flashed in his eyes. “That time… I think I had hurt Haru… I was furious with my humiliating defeat and shoved him away.”

“Oh…” I bit my lip, “What happened afterwards?”

“Afterwards? It was not until 4 more years later did I see Haru again.” Grandfather covered his eyes with the back of his left palm. “We weren’t on good terms at that time. All I thought of was just beating him and winning. Those times were my most foolish and regrettable years. I was a complete fool to be consumed by the absolute desire to be better at swimming. I was stupid, young, and a complete idiot.”

I drew in a sharp breath. “Did you win at the end?”

He lifted his left hand up from his eyes and turned towards me. “No… well yes… I won once… but at the end… I lost… but, I was never so glad at that loss.”

“Why?”

“Why you ask?” he let out a soft chuckle. “That’s because I got something back, it was a sight I never saw before. It was so memorable. I can still remember it so vividly to this day.”

“So it was a happy ending?”

As soon I asked this, I regretted it immediately.

Rin’s rare smile dropped down. “No… everything was fine until I got a girlfriend…”

“What happened?”

Grandfather patted me on the head. “Nothing for you to worry about.”

_~~_

_“Who was that girl just then?” Haru stared intently at Rin._

_The question had left Rin off guard. He flushed immediately. “W-well…”_

_“Was that your girlfriend?” Nagisa leapt up from the spot. “How long have you been dating? How did you meet? Have you entered the sex stage yet? How is your progress? How old is she? Which school is she from? How –“_

_Rin pushed down the teenage boy who bombarded him with questions. “You sure are loud.”_

_Nagisa only grinned. Makoto’s eyes flickered to Haru worriedly before returning his gaze back to Rin, “Is she your girlfriend?”_

_Rin’s jaw clenched before he swallowed down the embarrassment and shoved his fist in his pockets. “Yeah… we started dating just a week ago…”_

_Haru’s eyes widened._

_Nagisa gasped before he danced around with excitement. “Wow! Rin has grown up to be a big man!”_

_“Shut up!” Rin could not force down the blood rushing to his cheeks._

_Rei nodded with approval. “You have decided to learn the art of love? Impressive.”_

_“Come on! Tell us! What stage in the relationship have you guys progressed to?” Nagisa clung onto Rin’s arm._

_Rin attempted to swing free of this clingy friend. “L-let go.”_

_“We won’t until we get all the information out of your mouth.” Rei pushed up his glasses. The glass glinted under the sun._

_“Y-You!” Rin flushed._

_As the two interrogated Rin, Makoto sneaked a glance at Haru._

_”Haru… are you alright?”_

_Haru’s face darkened as every second ticked past._

_This was not looking good…_

_Not a word slipped past Haru. He only glared at Rin. When the red-haired boy felt a pair of intent eyes drilling holes in his head, he met Haru’s eyes._

_For a second, Rin froze. He saw something glint in the sapphire eyes._

_… Was that hurt?_

_Haru whipped around, before storming off. Makoto hurried after him._

_Nagisa and Rei all looked at each other, puzzled._

_“What’s with Haru?” Nagisa tilted his head._

_Rin frowned. “I…don’t know…”_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

A chord struck in me. Haru… my grandfather’s friend… his reaction…

An assumption popped up in my head.

If… Haru… actually…

Nah…

That can’t happen… Right?

“Grandfather…” I hesitated. “Haru’s reaction is… strange.”

Grandfather laughed sadly. “His reaction is even stranger when I told him I was getting married with that girlfriend.”

“What? You mean grandmother?”

 He slowly nodded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Haru completely froze.

_“You… are getting… married?” Every word seethed through the sapphire-eyed boy’s teeth._

_Rin gnawed on his bottom lip. Every inch of determination he mustered up during the past week had instantly dissipated. Rin had decided that it was time to move on. He couldn’t be stuck on his first love forever._

_Especially when his love interest was Haru…_

_It was time for him to resume a normal life; to have children, to have a wife, to nestle a grandchild in his arms._

_After all, he knew that Haru wasn’t a homosexual like himself._

_Come on, who has seen Haru being sexually attracted to anyone or anything besides water?_

_Rin had decided on this long ago… way back to when his current girlfriend confessed to him._

_It was time to let go…_

_“Yes.” Rin crossed his arms in front of his chest. “The wedding is next month. I was planning to tell you guys later on, but she keeps nagging me.” He snapped the back of his swimming goggles as he prepared his diving stance. “I’ve already prepared the wedding invitations in my bag. Come to our…” he paused, “… **my** wedding ceremony.” _

_Rin dared not to meet Haru’s eyes. Something was flashing red in his mind. It was warning him that if he were to exchange gazes with Haru right now, everything would change. All his deep secrets would be exposed. He couldn’t have that… he didn’t want Haru to find out… how dirty he was…_

_Moments passed. The silence was unbearable to the extent that Rin had almost missed the soft mutter of Haru’s words._

_“You’re still so cruel…”_

_Rin stiffened. “Wha—”_

_Haru dived into the water. Puddles of water splashed in Rin’s face._

_It took a few seconds for Rin to register Haru’s words. “Hey that’s not fair! Head start is not allowed!” Rin dived in and charged after his rival._

_~~~~~~_

_Rin gasped for air. His lungs screamed for oxygen. He felt that Haru had lost his usual calm demeanour today, especially when Rin saw him literally smacking through the water furiously._

_“W-what t-the hell…” Rin panted, “w-what i-is w-wrong with you today –”_

_“Congratulations.” Haru faced Rin._

_“Wait,” Rin halted, “… what?”_

_“I said congratulations.” Haru tilted his head, his expression passive. “What else do you need?”_

_“I-I…”_

_… What else do I need? Haru has already congratulated you… come on Rin… smile… smile now._

_Rin forced a smirk. It appeared as a grimace. “Thanks man, you better wear a nice suit. You’re going to be my best man on the day of my marriage ceremony.”_

_Haru curtly nodded._

_Then silence fell upon the two._

_Rin debated on whether to meet Haru’s gaze and smile or not. When he finally gritted his teeth and jerked his head up, he was stupefied._

_A drop of water trickled down from Haru’s hair. It curved down, meeting Haru’s mesmerizing eyes before sliding down his cheeks. I-it was almost as if it was…_

_…as if it was a tear…_

_But why would Haru cry?_

_Rin swiped away that ridiculous thought._

_“Want to have another round? This time, I’ll surely win.” Rin threw out a challenge._

_Haru accepted it. “Yes, this time, I’ll win again.”_

_“Hell no! I’m taking the victory this time.” Rin grinned and they exchanged a fragile smile. It was only for a brief moment, but it was the whole world to Rin._

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

“So what happened during the wedding ceremony?” An idea began solidifying in my mind and I just needed the last building block to hold everything together.

Rin chuckled. “Everything ran very smoothly, we invited friends and families over. Everyone was laughing.”  Grandfather’s expression shifted. “But then, Haru called me outside.”

This peculiar information made me perk my head up. “What did he do?”

“Now that you mention it,” my grandfather shifted in bed and pushed himself up with one elbow, “he handed me the photo that was taken when we were disqualified during the swimming finals in high school.” A delicate smile crept up his lips once more. “Those were great times.”

“Anything else?”

“Hm? What?” Confusion was clearly inscribed on his face.

“I mean, did he say anything else? Anything _special?_ ”

Rin raised an eyebrow. “No, is he supposed to?”

“No…” I mumbled and averted my eyes.

“Anyway,” Rin continued recounting the past events, “afterwards, we resumed with the wedding. On that night, I was drowned with alcohol. Every single guest invited me for a glass of wine. I couldn’t possibly turn down their invitations, so I pretty much blacked out after my 9th glass. My friends told me I was a blabbering idiot when I was drunk.” A shudder shivered down his spine. He looked at me warningly. “Don’t drink so much, if you need to drink, drink wisely.”

“I will.” I mentally forced down the image of my grandfather going complete waffling mood. Boy that was hilarious. But I’ll laugh about that. When I’m not in front of him.

“The next morning, I woke up feeling completely sore all over my body.” Rin shook his head in dismay. “It was the worst fucking hangover ever. My head pounded like there was no tomorrow.”

“That doesn’t sound like a hangover.”

“Well, you probably didn’t have it as bad as me.”

I shrugged. Well I guessed he was right. I had not reached the legal age to drink yet.

“So what happened next?”

Rin snorted. “Next? Nothing. I did not receive any text from Haru, any message, I could not reach him by phone. He moved out, even Makoto lost contact with him. It was as if he just vanished into thin air.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah.”

“Well that’s a disappointment.”

“That was more than disappointing. It was… _heartless._ ” Rin gritted his teeth and snapped his head back, glaring out the window like he would always do every now and then at his home. Old age could not corrode that abrasive attitude of his.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_“Haru! Haru! I fucking hate Haru!” Rin wailed. “He’s a fucking stone face!”_

_Haru’s eyes twitched, but he continued carrying Rin up to his bedroom._

_Rin was a complete drunk mess now. He was clawing and wiggling around in Haru’s arms. Numerous times had Haru nearly lost grip and a certain hot head would have landed ass first on the floor. Haru made a mental note to never allow Rin to get anywhere near a bottle of champagne again. That kid could not handle his liquor well._

_Stupid bachelor parties before the wedding ceremony. Who invented such troublesome events?_

_“Go to bed.” Haru grunted and dumped Rin on the mattress._

_Rin landed on it with a thump. He groaned. “Ouch… it hurts.”_

_“Who’d told you to drink that much.” Haru rolled his eyes._

_“I can’t help it.” Rin mumbled._

_Haru kneeled with one leg on the bed and leaned over. He helped Rin shrug off his coat. There was a battle of awkward flaying and flinging arms before he accomplished it._

_He dumped the coat on a chair nearby and strode back to the bedside. “Sleep now. Your wife is also drunk next door. What a matching couple.” Haru tucked the duvet over Rin._

_“Wife?” Rin’s eyes rolled under the half –closed eyelids. “What wife?”_

_Haru paused. He hesitated before kneeling down so their face where at the same level. “The person that you love.”_

_Rin shifted. “Love…?” A small hiccup escaped those full lips._

_Haru’s throat dried._

_“You love that person… don’t you?” Haru tentatively reached out and poked Rin’s cheeks. Rin grunted. Haru then transformed the poking into gentle caressing. He gazed at every defined feature of his best friend – Full lips, sharp eyebrows, tall nose and those blazing red hair… everything of him was absolutely… perfect._

_“Love…” Rin let out a goofy grin, “Yeah… I love him… I love that fucking Haru…”_

_Haru froze for a whole minute before he suddenly grabbed Rin by the wrist, firmly._

_“What did you say?” Those words seethed out of Haru as he glowered at him._

_“H-huh?” Clarity began coming back to Rin, but not enough to snap himself out of his drunk state. “What?”_

_“What. Did. You. Just. Say.” The grip on Rin’s wrist tightened. It began hurting him._

_“W-what? You mean love?” Rin groaned and moved a little to escape from the discomfort. It didn’t work. “I love…Haru”_

_Silence stretched once more. Rin could feel the hands on him trembling._

_Haru opened and closed his mouth. He gaped. He was fixed in motion. He was terrified that this was all of those pathetic dreams and the small hope wavering in him would diminish in a split second. Those three words… no one could imagine the impact it had on him. All those years of self-depreciation and depression, finally, a narrow path was stretched out for him into the light._

_Haru took in a deep breath. “Rin, do you mean what you are saying?”_

_There was no reply, but Haru continued._

_“What you said just then means we’re going to be together.” Haru glared at Rin. “That means you. Are. Mine. No yours.  Not hers. But mine. Mine.”_

_Still suffering from the influence of alcohol, Rin could hear nothing from the long speech but the word ‘wait’. He shifted uncomfortably in the bed. “Leeeeet goooo…. Nooot comfy…”_

_But Haru did not listen. In fact, he did the exact opposite; he loomed over Rin with his knees and hands on either side of his rival._

_“Who am I?” Haru leaned forward and murmured in Rin’s tinted ears._

_“Hmm?” Rin blinked. Twice. Then he let out a giggle. An actual giggle. “Haru-chan!”_

_A small smile played on Haru’s lips. “And what am I to you?”_

_“Friend!”_

_Haru narrowed his eyes. “Wrong.”_

_“Then… crush!”_

_Dissatisfaction lingered in the blue eyed boy’s expression. “Wrong again.”_

_“Then… lover!”_

_This time, Haru’s frown lightened. Only a bit._

_“It’s husband.” He gingerly touched Rin’s flushing cheeks. “In the future, it’s going to be… our wedding…” Haru’s expression suddenly shifted, a hint of disgust in his tone. “Not with that annoying girl.”_

_“Uh huh…” Rin mumbled._

_Haru studied his partner for a full minute before he sighed in resignation.  “Go to sleep, Rin.” He rose from the bed. Then he lifted the bed cover to properly tuck Rin in._

_“Ok…” Rin snuggled. Sleep crawled at the corners of his mind, threatening to knock him off from his conscious state and into deep slumber. Sleep had become a self-protection mechanism to prevent the human from consuming more alcohol, so the toxic chemical could then be slowly drained from his blood streams._

_And thanks to that, Rin missed the words he would have done anything to hear from Haru’s lips._

_“You’ll forget all this tomorrow, but…” Haru whispered, “I love you.”_

_“Hmmm…” That was the only response from the drunk red-haired._

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

_“What’s up Haru?” Rin tilted his head when his best friend led them out in a quiet area relatively far from the church and finally stopped._

_Haru kept his back towards him._

_“Rin.”_

_“Yeah?” Rin raised an eyebrow._

_“Rin.” Haru turned and locked eyes with him. His gaze burned with intensity that left Rin gulping audibly. “Rin.” His name escaped out of his mouth once more in a crispy whisper._

_“What?” Rin pushed down the shiver clawing its way down his spine from Haru’s husky murmur._

_“Do you remember when we first met?”_

_Rin let out a laugh. “Hell yeah. I remember how you dominated over everyone as soon as you hit the water.”_

_Haru’s lips twitched into a small smile. “Including yourself?”_

_Rin snorted. “Come on, no one can beat you in swimming. You’re literally the Water King. Fuck, you can even have the Water God title.”_

_Haru paused. “Then do you remember the ring you gave me?”_

_There was a plausible hesitation before Rin dragged out more words. “Uh yeah… why?”_

_“Good.” Haru did not respond of Rin’s question. Instead, he reached into his pockets and drew out a photo. “Here.”_

_It was the whole group grinning widely at the camera in the swimming finals after their disqualification._

_“W-what?” Rin gingerly took it into his hands. “What is this for?”_

_“I’m taking a chance,” Haru said._

_“Chance?” Rin tilted his head in confusion._

_Haru studied his best friend’s expression._

_ _

_They stayed silence, looking at each other. Rin could see a whirlpool of emotions swirling reflected in Haru’s eyes. There was a tug in his chest. It told Rin that Haru was trying to say something._

_He was trying to convey something to him. But what—?_

_Haru dropped his gaze and sighed._

_“Let’s go back.” Haru shrugged and strode past Rin._

_“Haru…” Rin bit his lips and debated on whether to pull Haru back so that they could clarify matters more clearly. In the end, he decided to let it slide._

_This later turned out to be one of Rin’s most regrettable decision in his life._

_“Oh ok. Let’s go.” Rin trailed after Haru._

_They walked in silence after that._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I’m sorry, but I believe the patient does not have long to live.”

My mind went white. I could no longer comprehend the mere words coming out from the doctor’s mouth.

I took a step back. “What do you mean?”

“I hope you prepare yourself for his departure. There is no longer anything that we can do for him.” The doctor looked down on the floor. “I’m sorry.”

The word ‘departure’ ricocheted in my head, draining the colour from my face. The next few minutes all passed my mind, I could not even remember how I staggered into my grandfather’s hospital room.

As soon as grandfather’s weak frame entered my vision, my whole body trembled. He had aged so much within days. I could see it all. The flames in his eyes died little by little. He could barely feed himself anymore. Most of the time, he spent it by immersing into deep slumber. Death’s claw was only minutes away from pouncing on his soul.

Rin turned his head and saw me. Then his gaze softened. “Don’t cry. You look like shit with those snot and tears.”

“Some grandfather you are, swearing to your grandchild like that.” I rushed to his bedside and flung my arms around him. “I’ll get it all over you if that’s the last thing I’ll do!”

Rin patted my back. “It’s alright, everyone has to leave the world one day.”

“But I don’t want you to leave,” nasal congestion caused my voice to break, “y-you d-definitely get better! I promise!”

My grandfather sighed. “No one can escape death,” he untangled himself from my arms and looked at me, “Including me.”

“B-but –”

“Instead of talking about death, can you help me get something?” Rin rustled my hair. The same coloured hair that I inherited from my father who got it from him.

“What?” I attempted to clear my blurred vision from the tears.

“Help me… get that ring and photograph…” Rin lowered his gaze, clutching my hands together with his. “It’s located next to my bedside table, front drawer.”

“Ring? You mean the wedding ring?” I sniffed.

Rin blinked, momentarily frozen before he relaxed, his lips forming into a small and sad smile. “A wedding ring huh… you can describe like that…”

I didn’t notice the gleam in his eyes.

“Ok! I’ll definitely get it!” I nodded my head rigorously. “I promise I get it tomorrow!”

“Thanks dear.” Rin rubbed my hair again.

~~~

“I got it, grandfather!” I laid out the ring and photograph on the bed. “The wedding ring is so unique! It’s shaped like a shark!”

Rin gingerly lifted the ring, as if it was a priceless treasure. He took it into his palm and clutched onto it. Then his gaze hovered over to the photograph. Mixed feelings churned in him. He caressed the picture, or perhaps at a certain someone in the photo.

The photograph’s frame faded to yellow from time and finger’s constant friction. I could see it showed a group of young men in their swimsuits laughing, their arms flung over each other’s shoulders. Among the group, I could spot Rin, the younger and more handsome version of him.

_So this was what it was for grandfather to truly smile_ …

Rin was too immersed into the photograph that he did not notice my attempt to peek over his shoulders.

When I drew close, he snapped out of his daze and knocked my arm. The glass of water in my hands spilt.

It drenched the photograph.

_Shit!_

Rin grabbed the photo, ignoring the fact that the water had wet his bed cover as well. He frantically made attempts to dry it, but it was no use.

He moved the photo to the direction of the sunlight. The heat from the sun could assist it to dry. It is then that he realised something different about the photo.

It appeared to contain faded writing.

Rin scrutinized the photo, but could not see very well.

“There seems to be words on it, can you read it?” He shoved the photo into my hands.

I fought the grimace that aroused from touching soggy paper. “Let me look.”

I studied the photo. I then noticed that I could peel off the back of it. “Looks like a paper covered the actual back of the photograph.”

“What? Really?” Rin’s eyebrows rose up, astonished.

“Yeah.” I peeled it off. “It really is true that something was written on the back.”

“What does it say?” Rin looked as if he could leap from his current spot to steal back the photo and see for himself.

“It says –”

I paused.

I did not continue.

Because I had not right to.

“Why did you stop?” Impatience began growing rapidly in Rin.

“Grandfather…” I passed the photo back to him, “I think you should see this yourself…”

Rin frowned. He snapped his head down and began scanning the words. Then, just as I anticipated, he completely froze. His body went rigid for a whole minute. The atmosphere changed instantly.

I knew that I had no place in this room right now. Grandfather needed his space.

So I quietly rose and headed towards the door.

But just before I left, I could not help but take one last peek at my grandfather.

There, I saw him, lying on the bed, peering through the window. He clutched the shark ring and photograph in his hands, placing them right in front of his chest. Tears streamed silently down his cheeks, glistening under the sun like jewels. I knew he was experiencing so much emotions then, but not a single cry escaped his lips.

He was a proud man.

However, I wasn’t very surprised with his reaction. Especially due to what content was written on that photograph.

It could make any heartless man cry.

~~~

Nurses and doctors rushed into Rin’s hospital room. Urgent calls and voices echoed into the air. I sat outside the room, waiting for news to come.

Exhaustion began creeping onto me due to countless sleepless nights. My head swarmed with worries and fears of Rin leaving me. I fought back the temptation to sleep. It worked for a while, but the force soon overwhelmed my willpower.

I dreamed that I stood in meadow. The grass danced with the sway of the wind. Butterflies fluttered after each other, trailing in the air as a line of colours. A blue blanket covered the sky, not a single cloud could be sighted. I felt at peace. It was heaven.

Then I saw someone run past me. A boy. A boy with my same purple hair.

He was sprinting towards someone. A silent figure in the distance. A boy with dark hair and the most intensive blue eyes I’ve ever seen.

The blue eyed boy opened up for an embrace. The purple-headed hurled himself into it.

“You’re late,” The indifferent-looking boy stated.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t realise the writing in the photograph until it was too late! I swear that I love you as well –“

“I know,” the other boy murmured. He buried his face into his shoulders and snuggled against it. “I don’t mind waiting, after all, I waited for 50 years already, I don’t mind waiting longer.”

The purple-headed boy was grinning like crazy while the blue-eyed boy returned it equally and no less with a gentle smile. They entwined their fingers and locked gazes.

I could feel the sense of joy radiating from the two. It felt like it was meant to be. For them to be together.

Just when they were about to leave, I stopped them.

“Grandfather?” I called out, “Is that you?”

The purple-headed boy halted. He turned around and recognition lit in his face.

“Please don’t go!” I begged, “Don’t leave me alone! I don’t want you to leave, grandfather!”

He hesitated for a moment, before he exchanged gazes with the blue-eyed boy. It is then that I could see that he had already made his decision.

He was going to leave.

“Look after yourself, okay?” Rin waved and continued walking with his partner.

“Please! No! Don’t go!” After a few relentless pleads, he ceased in his steps once more.

“Grandfather!”

This time he turned around and –

…

Flashed the most genuine smile I’ve ever witnessed from Rin.

(by Misaki Kurenai (i think), I don't own this picture)

It contrasted greatly to the fake smile he plastered during his life. It was finally the same smile shown in the photograph of himself while he was clinging onto Haru like an octopus.

It was finally a real smile.

During that second, I realized that Rin was happy for once. And I should allow him to be happy. After all, he never got that happiness in his lifetime when he deserved to.

He finally belonged to where he was supposed to be – in the arms of the blue –eyed man.

“Goodbye… grandfather…” I whispered as I watched the two wander off into the distance… into their own dreamland.

It was in that split moment that I woke up. After a few minutes, the doctor came out of the room to inform me of the tragic news.

My grandfather had passed away.

Although grief still existed in me, I could feel a sense of peace and reassurance in me.

I knew that my grandfather was in a place that he was happy to be in now.

And that was enough.

**Author's Note:**

> If you are curious to know what Haru wrote in the photograph, please comment below to request for it. Thanks!  
> I hope you enjoyed it! It was a happy ending.... right?????


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